Kaikōura earthquake response

Project Introduction

The damage caused by the 7.8-magnitude November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake to the Main North Line railway and SH1 along the east coast of the South Island was unprecedented in New Zealand. The North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery alliance was set-up to restore the road and rail networks.

Moving mountains to reconnect communities

Good progress is being made to have the earthquake-damaged State Highway 1 along the South Island’s east coast reopened before Christmas.

Road status

Overview

The 2016 Kaikōura earthquake caused significant damage to the area, closing both State Highway 1 (SH1) and the Main North Rail Line between Picton and Christchurch. This has disrupted the lives of those who live along the highway and who rely on the road and rail networks to access their homes, farms and businesses and the movement of goods to market.

The North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) has been set-up by the government under the Hurunui/Kaikōura Earthquakes Recovery Act 2016 to repair and get the road and rail networks re-opened by the end of 2017.

State Highway 1 remains closed to through-traffic from Picton to Christchurch. The highway is open between Picton and Clarence, and from Christchurch to Kaikoura during daylight hours. It remains closed between Clarence and Mangamaunu.

Road access was restored to Kaikōura before Christmas 2016, via the Inland Route 70 and on State Highway 1 south of the seaside town which is open with restrictions. The work by NCTIR includes repairing and rebuilding the networks to be more resilient and safer, helping keep everyone better connected in the future. NCTIR will also manage the upgrade of the alternate highway route between Picton and Christchurch, along State Highways 63, 6, 65 and 7 (Lewis Pass), and the Inland Road between Kaikōura and Culverden.

The earthquake generated the strongest ground acceleration (external link) ever recorded in New Zealand, with widespread damage throughout the Hurunui, Marlborough and Kaikoura districts. The scale and complexity of the damage to State Highway 1, the Main North Line railway and the Kaikoura marina is unprecedented.

The work by NCTIR includes repairing and rebuilding the transport networks to be more resilient and safer, helping keep everyone better connected in the future. The rebuild is a massive undertaking, and even after access is restored, there will be an ongoing repair programme to improve and help keep the network resilient.

The Main North Line railway is now live and freight services started again mid-September 2017 in a limited capacity at night so the rebuild of the road and rail can continue during the day. The internationally acclaimed Coastal Pacific tourism experience will be up and running when the rail line is fully complete and all of the speed restrictions are lifted.

Our teams are working as hard as possible to have the road open to the public by the end of 2017 although work will continue in 2018 to bring the road corridor back to its pre-earthquake condition and deliver the government’s $231 million improvements package.

More than 1300 people from 100 organisations from across New Zealand and around the world are helping to restore the transport corridor along the Kaikoura coastline. NCTIR maintain a commitment to support locals where possible and around 100 people are based in our Kaikoura office.